Portland Chef Jenn Louis: The Best Thing I Ate This Week

Chef Jenn Louis tastes the best cheeseburger at Helvetia Tavern right outside Portland.

_ Each week, we ask one superstar chef to tell us the best thing they’ve tasted recently, out and about in their home cities._

Meet Jenn Louis, Oregon chef and champion of Pacific Northwestern cuisine. Louis fell in love with food as a teenager working with wilderness education outfit Outward Bound, but there’s no campfire cookery at her Portland eateries, Lincoln Restaurant and Sunshine Tavern. The two venues reflect Louis’ binary taste: delicate pastas and Mediterranean-leaning proteins at Lincoln; disco fries, meatball parms and corndogs at Sunshine. She obliged her more indulgent cravings with a cheeseburger during a recent visit to Helvetia Tavern about 20 minutes from downtown Portland.

Why it's so good: The Helvetia Tavern cheeseburger with bacon is one of my all-time favorite old-school griddle burgers. The bun is soft, the meat is juicy and every condiment helps balance the savory, tangy and smoky flavors. Even in December I eat the slice of an out-of-season tomato, and I always make sure to ask for extra pickles. Helvetia has a restaurant side, but I always eat on the tavern side where there is a pool table and lots of booths.